Why your SUV sucks in the mountains

[californiagrown]

Just please make sure to stay in the right lane - for the sake of all those people that DID purchase proper snow/ice tires.

Famous last words. To an extent i agree with you, however you (general you) are a straight jackass if the right lane is going 25mph and you blow by in the left lane going 50+. Just asking for an accident.

Or even worse, and i see this constantly on I-90 in WA state: Its a 3 lane highway and folks are chaining up along the shoulder in the chain-up area. The left lane is folks moving along at 35-40 mph, the middle lane is the 20-25mph chain lane, and people are keeping the right lane generally clear because people are chaining up 2' from it on the shoulder, and other folks are just pulling out into that lane from chaining up so its kind of like a pit-road scenario. I always see some douche (almost always a sledneck with a flatbed for whatever reason) see the open lane and gun it going 50mph, literally 2' from folks kneeling down chaining up, spraying the shit out of them and every so often getting loose and almost wiping out a few different parents in front of their kids.

[skaredshtles]

<snip>
you can always move over when you have to

Yeah... you'd think so - but in the real world, hardly anyone *actually* moves over.

[swissiphic]

Back in the day they plowed the road up HBM once a week, nobody owned a 4x4, sex was dirty and bra's were pointy ... those were the good old days

Okay, so i take it that's yer cryptic way of agreeing with me that there's not enough weight in cars these days. Noted.

[skaredshtles]

Famous last words. To an extent i agree with you, however you (general you) are a straight jackass if the right lane is going 25mph and you blow by in the left lane going 50+. Just asking for an accident.

As always, it depends. You still should not drive faster than you can react and stop/slow safely.

Hell - sometimes in the mountains here, even on *dry* roads, you'll get 25mph traffic in the right lane with 70mph traffic passing in the left lane. It's almost always the fault of the people in the right lane due to not paying attention to what's going on ahead of them.

[Name Redacted]

Had a lady driving 45 in a 65 on dry roads because she was passing a semi. I had to slam on the brakes, then follow her for a mile before she finally completed the pass. WTF? People need to have more of a sense of urgency to gtfo of th semi's blind spot.

[skaredshtles]

Had a lady driving 45 in a 65 on dry roads because she was passing a semi. I had to slam on the brakes, then follow her for a mile before she finally completed the pass. WTF? People need to have more of a sense of urgency to gtfo of th semi's blind spot.

This - I'm trying to instruct my kids to treat the passing lane much like you would on a 2-lane road. Accelerate into the passing lane, get that shit DONE, then immediately move back to the right when you're done passing.

[PNWbrit]

This - I'm trying to instruct my kids to treat the passing lane much like you would on a 2-lane road. Accelerate into the passing lane, get that shit DONE, then immediately move back to the right when you're done passing.

The continental European habit of having your blinker on when in the passing lane. has much to offer in this regard.

[skaredshtles]

The continental European habit of having your blinker on when in the passing lane. has much to offer in this regard.

My limited experiences driving in Europe seem to indicate that they are far ahead of U.S. drivers in getting people from point A to point B efficiently.

[Meadow Skipper]

I really expected the helicopter parenting thread to blow up not the SUV suckage one.

Well, you gotta expect it when there are tires involved.

[Mallthus]

My limited experiences driving in Europe seem to indicate that they are far ahead of U.S. drivers in getting people from point A to point B efficiently.

In my experience, 9/10 of why Europeans appear to be better drivers is training/testing. The limited skill set required to get a license in the US is laughable. But even in Europe, there’s a clear hierarchy of driver quality, generally corresponding to training/testing requirements, which are generally more strict in Northern Europe and less so in Eastern and Southern Europe.* The penalties levied for unsafe driving are also quite harsh, with traffic enforcement generally used to enhance road safety, rather than as a revenue source, as is more common in the US.**


* No, I don’t have specific examples, outliers definitely exist (UK & Eire jump to mind), and they’re almost all significantly stricter than in the USA.
** Not to say that there’s not a revenue component in Europe. I got my first speeding ticket in Germany and it was a doozy, although conveniently payable on the spot.


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[dewam]

I got my first speeding ticket in Germany and it was a doozy, although conveniently payable on the spot.

Years back in Alaska there was a state trooper who targeted "Out of state" drivers. He politely informed them that he could take care of the fine on the spot if they had cash. A German speaking undercover officer driving a rental put an end to that cash cow. I do not know what kind of tires the convicted state trooper used.

[Toadman]

I'm wondering where the thread is on, 'Why your AWD sedan doesN'T suck in the mountains.'?

[old goat]

I hate it when the right lane is plowed well and the left lane is deep rutted snow. All the trucks and people going slow are in the right lane but you can't pass them safely in the left lane. Nothing to do but be patient.

Friends picked me up on the way to Squaw this morning (I was super stoked to get to park in the carpool lot) and their Audi SUV slid and fishtailed through the stop sign on Donner Pass Rd at the Donner Lake interchange--a notoriously icy spot which he approached at a reasonable speed. I told him he should get winter tires. He said he had Pirelli Scorpions. Be warned.

[dunfree]

In my experience, 9/10 of why Europeans appear to be better drivers is training/testing. The limited skill set required to get a license in the US is laughable. But even in Europe, there’s a clear hierarchy of driver quality, generally corresponding to training/testing requirements, which are generally more strict in Northern Europe and less so in Eastern and Southern Europe.* The penalties levied for unsafe driving are also quite harsh, with traffic enforcement generally used to enhance road safety, rather than as a revenue source, as is more common in the US.**


* No, I don’t have specific examples, outliers definitely exist (UK & Eire jump to mind), and they’re almost all significantly stricter than in the USA.
** Not to say that there’s not a revenue component in Europe. I got my first speeding ticket in Germany and it was a doozy, although conveniently payable on the spot.


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there's also a vehicle component. vehicles sold in the US die in the US. they don't end up in eastern europe. US vehicle licensing (aside from emissions in some jurisdictions) is effectively "do whatever the fuck you want". bald tires? no problem. nobody gonna give a fuck. it's not that people don't know it's that they've no incentive to give a fuck.

[PNWbrit]

there's also a vehicle component. vehicles sold in the US die in the US. they don't end up in eastern europe. US vehicle licensing (aside from emissions in some jurisdictions) is effectively "do whatever the fuck you want". bald tires? no problem. nobody gonna give a fuck. it's not that people don't know it's that they've no incentive to give a fuck.

I don't think many in the US have a clue how stringent some Euro vehicle inspections are.

[TAFKALVS]

Pirelli Scorpions. Be warned.

I had a set of those on an Impreza I owned. They were the winter variant. They had really good deep/loose snow performance for a car tire but didn't have very good ice driving performance.

[klauss]

went with the DMV2’s on the Ford.

That's a good winter tire. are they sitting on pizza cutters or did you do the reasonable thing and get 18 inch wheels for em?

[muted]

I don't think many in the US have a clue how stringent some Euro vehicle inspections are.

Utah got rid of tire inspections maybe 2 or 3 years ago. Was a good thing to check, I thought, before going up LCC in winter. Do they check tires in Europe?

j/k

[PNWbrit]

Do they check tires in Europe?

j/k

https://www.gov.uk/government/public...cked-at-an-mot

^ UK annual test for all cars over three years old.

[Bobcat Sig]

I guess that depends on what you mean "in the mountains." Icy and/or snowy roads are common throughout the winter in places in the northern interior west that are not actually "in the mountains," e.g., central and E WA and much of MT. I-90 through MT is often icy and snowy, and side roads off the interstate often stay icy and/or snowy throughout the winter. Missoula, Bozeman and Livingston are surrounded by mountains, but not "in the mountains."

Both Bozeman and Livingston are at considerable elevation and spend much of the winter with snow and ice through out town. In those instances, whether actually in the mountains, one might as well consider them as in the mountains. Bozeman starts at 4800 feet.

Just please make sure to stay in the right lane - for the sake of all those people that DID purchase proper snow/ice tires.

FKNA eleventy billions times this!

I hate it when the right lane is plowed well and the left lane is deep rutted snow. All the trucks and people going slow are in the right lane but you can't pass them safely in the left lane. Nothing to do but be patient.

Friends picked me up on the way to Squaw this morning (I was super stoked to get to park in the carpool lot) and their Audi SUV slid and fishtailed through the stop sign on Donner Pass Rd at the Donner Lake interchange--a notoriously icy spot which he approached at a reasonable speed. I told him he should get winter tires. He said he had Pirelli Scorpions. Be warned.

That's where snow/ice tires pay dividends; confidence in passing during sketchy conditions.

And, there are many variants of the Scorpion, including those for motorcycles. Sounds like your buddy didn't have the snow/ice variant.

I had a set of those on an Impreza I owned. They were the winter variant. They had really good deep/loose snow performance for a car tire but didn't have very good ice driving performance.

Beat me to it.

[old goat]

Both Bozeman and Livingston are at considerable elevation and spend much of the winter with snow and ice through out town. In those instances, whether actually in the mountains, one might as well consider them as in the mountains. Bozeman starts at 4800 feet.


FKNA eleventy billions times this!


That's where snow/ice tires pay dividends; confidence in passing during sketchy conditions.

And, there are many variants of the Scorpion, including those for motorcycles. Sounds like your buddy didn't have the snow/ice variant.


Beat me to it.

he has the winter version

[snowaddict91]

Its the time of year to bump this thread. Has anyone ran Sumitomo ice edge? Thinking about putting dedicated snows on the wife's rav4 and these are cheap. I'm sure they will be more than adequate for driving LCC, but I'm wondering if they'll be noticeably worse on dry roads than a blizzak, etc. since we have a lot of dry weather in the SLC valley.

We've been running Yokohama G015s on the rav4 for a few winters and they've been good, but we've changed up work schedules and the vehicle quiver and with snows I'd probably do most of ski driving in this instead of my f150.

[reckless toboggan]

Studded Hakkapeliitta LTs one size taller than you'd normally get.

[MakersTeleMark]

Get some Hakk's and call it good. Every year, so simple.

[nickel]

I got Michelin Ice X last year because money. First time in almost ten years I drove something other than Hakkas in the winter and I was actually pretty impressed. Second and third winter will really be where the pudding shows its proof though. For half the price, I might just be ok with it if they're acceptable on second winter (which will put them over 30K KMs.